International monitoring effort to help save ferruginous hawk and grasslands

The web site, which will feature daily updated maps, species information, and an educational section with lesson plans and activities for students, is part of a five-year study into the key habitats and distribution range of North America's largest hawk.

Spearheaded by fourteen nongovernmental and governmental organizations, including the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the international monitoring effort was prompted by concern over the species' status in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The decline of the ferruginous hawk population has been documented since the early 1900s, when grasslands conversion for agriculture and other development purposes began to impact the species' nesting areas and range. In Canada, its range shrank by an estimated 50 percent. Today, the CEC lists the ferruginous hawk as a "species of common conservation concern" for North America.

"These birds are tied very closely to the native prairie that we are only now beginning to understand and look at," said Jim Watson, wildlife research scientist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, who is overseeing the field research. "The data collected from these transmitters will help inform future conservation efforts for ferruginous hawks and their grassland habitats."

"This study is significant because the lessons learned about the ferruginous hawk can be applied to other grasslands species, many of which are also imperiled," echoed Bob McCready, director of The Nature Conservancy's Prairie Wings project.

Current concerns for the ferruginous hawk include the loss of suitable breeding and wintering habitat. The study will therefore provide scientists for the first time with data on how regional ferruginous hawk populations interact throughout the year, as well as winter ecology and nesting patterns.

"If we don't address the conservation of winter habitat in Mexico, we dramatically increase the risk of losing the species entirely," said Dr. Alberto Lafón, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua.

In Canada, where the ferruginous hawk breeds in the spring, the species is listed as a "special concern." Ursula Banasch, a wildlife biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service, explains: "Some agricultural practices and the southward expansion of parkland into the northern part of the grasslands have resulted in a reduction of the ferruginous hawk's range."

"Birds don't recognize national boundaries, and since many populations of the ferruginous hawk migrate between Canada to Mexico, a study like this could only be accomplished through international cooperation," concluded Jürgen Hoth, program coordinator for the CEC.

Findings from the five-year study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and appear on the web site.

The ferruginous hawk has a wingspan of approximately 4.6 feet. It is found in three Canadian provinces, 17 US states, and winters as far south as central Mexico.

Tips to help save the ferruginous hawk:

1. Support local and global bird conservation efforts.
2. Maintain existing large blocks of native grasslands.
3. Maintain prey species on those grasslands, especially prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and jackrabbits.
4. Avoid disturbance at nest sites from 15 March until 15 July, and tailor nest buffers to protect native habitats within 1 km of nests.
5. Protect natural nest structures, trees, cliffs, and rock outcrops from activities that would damage them (i.e., cattle, mining, etc).
6. Construct artificial nest structures.

List of partner organizations:

Arch Coal Inc., Canadian Wildlife Service, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Nature Conservancy (Prairie Wings project, Wyoming Chapter), Northern Great Plains Joint Venture, Profauna Chihuahua, A.C., Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Tierra Consulting, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, USDA Forest Service International Program, USDA Forest Service Thunder Basin National Grassland, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wyoming Game and Fish, Wyoming Audubon.

Note to editors:

High-resolution images are available online at www.ferruginoushawk.org/media.

To schedule an interview, please contact Spencer Tripp at (514) 350-4331.